


No Explanation

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Christmas, Gift, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-02-18 12:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13099707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: Kimberly Hawkins receives a strange Christmas gift for Christmas from a person who she does not know and didn't put this gift on her Christmas list this year. Of course, she found this odd, but it came on her front porch. How will she be able to solve this? Came from writing prompt





	1. Chapter 1

Kimberly Hawkins finished decorating her house and Christmas tree a few days earlier because Christmas was coming up very shortly. She was staying with her parents for the holidays. Their names are Arthur and Grace. Unlike several families, Kimberly and her parents don’t do traditions. It’s just something they aren’t interested in doing, which is okay.

She got to her mailbox early that snowy day. It was a blizzard, so there was no work and school. Kimberly had always liked winter. When she was younger, she had always loved to ski and play outside in the cold weather. She isn’t the type of person who sits by the fire with a book. To tell the truth, she’s an outdoor type of person. Even some of her friends like the outdoors also.

Kimberly opened her mailbox. She received mostly bills so far besides cards and packages. This week, she found a gift that was on her porch. It was wrapped when she found it. Kimberly looked at the wrapping paper when she closed the front door of her house. She looked to see if there was a name on who left this package here at her house.

Yes, she has a child of her own. She has a child whose name is Briana. Her daughter is only a toddler, so she’s too young to remember anything yet. Kimberly had put Briana down for her nap before she went to collect the mail. This gift she found on the front porch didn’t have any information that person who put this strange gift for her. There was a tag who had put her name on it, but not their name, which she found as odd.

It was only the twenty – third of December, and now she’s already receiving strange gifts from someone who hadn’t left her any contact information. This does look like a mystery, Kimberly told herself. She’d planned on showing this odd package to her folks and see what they have to say about this one. Kimberly decided to open that person’s gift that he or she had dropped off just today.

She called up a friend of hers to share about this strange gift. Maybe her friend might have some ideas. The wrapping paper that was on this gift had the usual – Santa and his reindeer in the snow, so it wasn’t anything new about it. You see that kind of wrapping paper all the time, she told herself. She listened to her friend’s telephone ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Sarah. I have something I want to share with you.”

“What’s that?”

Sarah’s last name happens to be Webber. Sarah has another few friends and sees them often.

“I just found a strange present on my doorstep.”

“A lot of people do that, Kimberly. That’s nothing special.”

“This looks like a mystery to me, Sarah. Mysteries can be fun once in a while, and I’m going to solve this one for sure.”

“You still haven’t said what that gift was.”

“Sarah, I haven’t even opened it yet. I’m going to tell my mom and dad about this one, but you’re the first person to know about it.”

“Really? Maybe some other of my friends might be interested in helping you besides myself.”

“There’s no need to share with them, Sarah, but you can if you want.”

“Why don’t you open the gift now, Kimberly? I know Christmas is only two days away from now, so I do happen to think this sounds like the perfect time to find out what’s in that gift.”

“I’m thinking the same thing, Sarah. I’ll do it right now since you’re the one who suggested it in the first place.”

So Kimberly opened the gift as she put the phone down. Sarah listened to her open the wrapping paper.

“What is it, Kimberly? Anything interesting?”

Kimberly picked up the phone again so she could answer her friend’s question.

“It’s a bottle of liquid. That’s odd because I didn’t put it on my Christmas list this year.”

“What color is the liquid?” Sarah asked.

“Orange. I’m not too crazy about that color, but it’s okay once in a while. It came with a note too.”

“This really sure is turning out to become a mystery. I don’t mind helping you like I said before.”

“Let me think about it, but thank you for offering.”

“You haven’t read to me on what that liquid’s note says.”

“I’m getting to that now, Sarah. Here’s what it says – ‘Hello, Kimberly. I was thinking of you this holiday season, so I thought you’d really appreciate something from me. I hope you’ll like this bottle of liquid I just dropped off at your place. Please keep this in mind toy use in emergencies when you think of me. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I’ll be back.”

“Wow. Must be a secret admirer or something like that.”

“I never thought of it, Sarah. You really do have a good brain. Sometimes it’s better than my own.”

“Don’t say that, Kimberly. I don’t think my brain is better than anyone’s.”

“I’ll let you go now, Sarah. All I want to do right now is figure out who sent this.”

“Keep me posted. I like a good mystery.”

That’s when Kimberly decided to disconnect this conversation. She’s share this with Mom and Dad tomorrow night. It would really get them interested.


	2. Chapter 2

Kimberly called Arthur and Grace to see if they would like to come over tonight for dinner. She talked with Grace and not Arthur.

“Hi, Mom,” she said when Grace picked up the telephone.

“Hi, honey. I was thinking of calling you as well. You and Briana are welcome to come over for Christmas.”

“I plan to show up. I wanted to know if you were open to come over to dinner tonight.”

“We’re still available. We don’t have any plans to do anything, Kimberly. What time do you have in mind so I can tell your father?”

“How does five – thirty sound to you?”

“That could work. Is there anything that you wanted to tell us?”

“Of course there is, Mom, but it’s better to show both of you instead of telling you. It’s a Christmas gift.”

“From anyone you know?”

“No.”

“Your father and I will be over soon, and you can tell us all about it.”

“Okay. What is Dad doing? I thought he was going to pick up the phone.”

Not today he didn’t. He is outside shoveling the snow that’s been on our driveway.”

“Oh. I haven’t done that quite yet. I think I’ll do that.”

“Do you want to give me a little hint on what your Christmas gift is?”

“No, but all I can tell you that it’s a strange one.”

“You mean as in mysteries? I enjoy a good mystery.”

“I know you do, Mom. Of course it’s a mystery. I want to solve this one on my own.”

“Have you told the police or any of your friends about it?”

“Nope. I only told Sarah, but that’s about it. She’s interested in helping me out on this one.”

“Is it some sort of crime, Kimberly? I’d still go to the police about this one. It could be dangerous.”

“I know, Mom, but it’s not a murder and the police don’t need to be involved on this one.”

“It could be dangerous like I told you. You’ve been involved in solving mysteries almost your entire life. You’re a private investigator and you do an excellent job.”

“Thanks, Mom. Since I do this for a living, I don’t have any clients on this mystery to work for them. This is just me. I wanted to share on what’s the latest.”

“Thanks, honey. Of course I’m interested in what you work on. So is your father.”

When Grace said that, Kimberly heard the garage door close.

“Your father just walked in. I’ll talk with him and we’ll be on our way.”

“Thanks, Mom. Sarah agrees with you that it sounds mysterious, which is true. I don’t want Sarah and my other friends involved.”

“So that means Sarah knows the entire story.”

“Yes, she does. Sarah wants to share this with Elizabeth and Carolyn about this odd Christmas gift.”

“Your father and I will see you shortly and you can show us your mysterious Christmas gift.”

“Okay. Bye, Mom.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

Arthur gave his wife a look when she put the telephone back in the cradle.

“Who was that just called us, Grace?” asked Arthur.

“I was just talking to Kimberly. She wants to see us tonight.”

“What for? Is something wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have the story?”

“Just a little bit.”

Grace repeated Kimberly’s words from that conversation.

“It does sound just like a mystery for sure. What time does she expect us to come on over?”

Grace answered that question.

“So we have plenty of time. I’ll hop into the shower now and then we can go.”

“All right. Would you like to have a quick cup of coffee?”

“No, thanks. All I need right now is a shower. It’s really cold out there.”

“I know. She did say that she was going to shovel too. I’ll stay right here to wait until you finish your shower.”

“Thanks, Grace. I’ll see you soon.”

Grace had planned on bringing some hot chocolate over to Kimberly’s. That’s the only time they do have hot chocolate. It sure didn’t take Arthur very long at all on taking his shower and get into some fresh clothes. Grace is a patient person.

“Are you ready, Arthur?”

“Yes, I am. Do you want me to do the driving or do you want to?”

“I can do it.”

“And I can do it on the way back here.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

She watched him put on his jacket and zip it. She’d already done that while he was in the shower. They didn’t say much at all while she drove over to Kimberly’s.

It didn’t take them very long to get over to their daughter’s house.

“Would you mind telling me again on what Kimberly told you on the phone?”

So Grace did.

“Wow. Sounds interesting. Maybe we can help her out if she needs it.”

“She sounds like she wants to do this on her own. I still think she should still go to the police station and tell them also.”

“I hope she does, honey. It wouldn’t hurt her to do it like you just told her.”

“I hope she listens, Arthur. It still sounds dangerous to me like I told her.”

When the car parked in the driveway, Kimberly was outside with the shovel. That’s when she saw her mother and father.

“You look worried, Kimberly.”

“Not worried. I just have a lot on my mind right now, especially that odd gift I found on my doorstep.”

“Where is it so we can see for ourselves?” Arthur asked as she put the shovel down.

“I’ll worry about the snow later. This is more interesting than shoveling snow.”

The three of them walked into the open garage. She put the shovel back where it belonged.

“Your mother tells me that you didn’t go to the police.”

“It doesn’t involve them.”

She had the container of perfume that she’s kept since she found it on the doorstep.

“Where’s the mystery?”

“You’re looking at it, Mom.”

“Where?” Grace asked.

“Right here in front of me.”

She was holding the container of orange perfume.

“That doesn’t look like a strange gift, Kimberly. It’s just a container of perfume.”

“I didn’t put it on my Christmas list. This has been surprising to me. I told Sarah over the phone earlier that I’m going to solve this on my own.”


	3. Chapter 3

Once Grace and Arthur left, Kimberly decided to call Sarah again. She dialed Sarah’s telephone number. Yes, she was at home.

“Hi, Kimberly. Anything new that’s happened on this mystery?” Sarah greeted her.

“No. I just told my mother and father about it. My mom thinks the police should be a part of this. It’s not a murder, I told her.”

“It can be, Kimberly. Did your mom have any ideas besides the police come and help you?”

“No. I was out shoveling the snow when they came in my driveway.”

“It’s not bad here where I live.”

“I’m sure it isn’t. Did you tell Carolyn and Elizabeth?”

Kimberly had never met Sarah’s friends, but she only knows who they are.

“Of course I did. Elizabeth thinks you should keep it like your note said. She wants to know where you can find the perfume.”

“Tell her that I have no idea on how to answer that. All I know it was right on my doorstep. I also don’t know how much money it is let alone know where it came from. Did Carolyn say anything about it?”

“Not really. She’s not a big fan of perfume and all that other stuff. We weren’t born in money like Elizabeth is.”

“I never knew that.”

“Neither did we until Carolyn and I looked her brother up on Google and there was her secret. It was also a lie when we talked to her.”

“Sarah, I didn’t call to talk about Elizabeth and Carolyn. I might be a private investigator, but I’m still going to solve this one on my own.”

“I wish you the best of luck, Kimberly.”

“I think I may need it, Sarah.”

“That’s what I thought. Now I have another question for you to answer.”

“I’ll do my best, Sarah. What’s your question?”

“Did this person have a telephone number and address for you to contact?”

“No, all it was a note, and that’s all. Nobody signed their name either. I’m still going to find out who this person is and ask them about the emergency note.”

“I think I agree with your mom on telling the police to get involved. Do you have any ideas on where to start looking for clues?”

“Not yet, but I’ll need a phone book on this one for ideas.”

“That’s going to be a hard one on this one. Elizabeth did ask me what color the perfume is.”

“Tell her it came from an orange container and it is the color blue.”

Kimberly wasn’t aware of Sarah writing down on what she had just told her friend.

“When you find any names you like that who did this, let me know.”

“Of course you’ll know, Sarah. I’m planning on writing those names and numbers.”

“That’s part of your job, Kimberly. I understand you have been solving a lot of crimes in the past few years.”

She spoke again and said, “Please promise me one thing.”

“What’s that, Sarah?”

“Be careful and don’t get hurt. You might need your gun just in case.”

“I plan to do that. I do always, no matter where I am.”

“That’s good. Listen, I have to go, Kimberly. I wish I was closer to help you out.”

“Me too. I’m off to find that book.”

That’s when they hung up. Kimberly kept on what Grace had told her about the idea of being involved. Could this person be somebody she knew? She’ll find out for sure, but will keep this in mind. There was no need to write this down. She walked into the kitchen to see if she remembered where the telephone book was in its normal place in the kitchen cabinet where she usually kept it.

Kimberly had the note with her this entire time she found the telephone book. She reread this note a zillion times before she flipped through the book. When she got up from her feet, Kimberly grabbed the closest sheet of paper and a pencil. She was happy to know that the pencil and scratch paper were close by. It was now finally time to sit at the table and start working on her ideas.

Again she reread the note. Kimberly had another look at the handwriting. She was fifty – fifty if she did or didn’t recognize that person’s handwriting. This could be worth sharing with Mom and Dad. She wanted to see what their thoughts were on her mystery perfume really was. She decided to play safe on not trying it out for the first time, which made sense to her.

Before she started flipping through, Kimberly was still standing near the cupboard so she could drink some water. Maybe when she gets tired of writing the information on what she was looking for, Kimberly was going to try calling those people and see of the locals were knowing anything about the mysterious orange container of perfume. Now it was time to start her search.

As she finished drinking her glass of water, she finally was able to sit down and write. Could this be someone she didn’t know? If so, she planned to call a lot of those people to see if they could help her out on this one. Like Sarah said, good luck. She told herself the two words and probably need it. Time to start making calls to those people she could think of to ask. So that’s what she did.


	4. Chapter 4

A couple of days later, Kimberly received a telephone call from Arthur.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hello, sweetheart. How’s your day turning out?”

“So far, so good. I’d like to talk with you and Mom again about the note with the perfume.”

“What about them, Kimberly?”

“I’m not talking about it over the telephone, Dad. It’s about that note.”

“You can come over, Kimberly.”

“Mind if I come over now?” she asked.

“Of course. We’re not doing anything.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, Dad.”

Then Arthur put the phone back where it came from.

“Kimberly’s coming over, Grace.”

“Is she still trying to solve this? She wouldn’t get very far since that person didn’t leave a note with a phone number and address.”

“Maybe Kimberly found something she wants to share with us.”

“You can be right, Grace. Let’s watch out for her. Like you said before, it could be dangerous.”

“I just don’t want to see her getting hurt, Arthur. She’s our only child. I’m not too crazy about her getting involved solving mysteries. That’s what she wanted to do, and she got it. Maybe something is bugging her.”

“You’re right. Kimberly called here because she wanted to talk about the perfume and note.”

“That’s what I figured, Arthur. I sure hope she found something that’s worth it.”

About five minutes later, Kimberly parked on the street of her parents’ place. She didn’t bother parking in the driveway. Yes, Kimberly bought the note along with the perfume like she told her father. She then locked the car and then headed up to the front door. There was no need to knock or ring the doorbell.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

Grace and Arthur watched as their daughter slammed the front door behind her.

“You look curious.”

“Of course I do, Dad. I think I found something.”

“I told you so, Arthur.”

“Yes, you did. Tell us what made you want to come over here?”

“Mom, I have read this same note a zillion times and I mostly looked at the handwriting.”

“What about the handwriting?”

“You tell me.”

Kimberly handed the note over to Grace.

“Why do we need to see this note again?”

“Mom, I happen to think that this handwriting is from somebody we know or not. And this is exactly why I wanted to come over.”

“That’s something your mother and I couldn’t figure out.”

“Maybe you will now.”

Grace was still studying the note, which said, “in case of emergency.”

That was something she couldn’t figure out.

“When that note said the word “emergency, I’m not going to try on that perfume. Maybe I could give it to one of my friends and see what they think of having it. I don’t think of perfume as the word ‘emergency.” That person doesn’t know I’m not crazy about perfume.”

Grace nodded.

“Maybe you do have something there. I’m sure your friends would rather have the bottle so it wouldn’t go to waste.”

“Who do you think would want it?”

“We’ll talk about it some more and see what we can do.”

Grace looked at the note again.

“I think you probably figure out like I did with the handwriting, Mom.”

“May I see it too?”

“Yes, Arthur.”

So Arthur took the paper from his wife.

“You are right, honey. I do recognize the handwriting, but I can’t tell for sure who it belongs to.”

“It looks like a stranger wrote it to me.”

Arthur handed it back to Kimberly.

“Thank you, Dad, but all I can think of is to take it to the police department like you said before, Mom.”

“Glad to see that you’re starting to agree with me. Go do that when you leave here. I think the police is the better choice than your friends.”

“I plan to do that, Mom. This is the strangest gift I ever got that came with a note without any explanation. I’m about to give up on this, Mom and Dad. I’m not going to give it up. You know I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to give up.”

“You go to the police right now and tell them everything you know about this perfume container. It was a nice try.”

“I know I’ll talk with you later.”


	5. Chapter 5

Over the weekend, Sarah called Kimberly. No, Kimberly wasn’t with Grace and Arthur when her friend called.

“Hi, Sarah. How was your week?” asked Kimberly.

“It was good, thank you for asking. How is your search coming along so far?”

“It’s still the same, Sarah. I read the note a zillion more times with the words ‘in case of emergency.’”

“What about those words?”

Sarah was still interested in what Kimberly’s thought was.

“Well, I kept reading those words. The handwriting looked a little familiar, but I really can’t tell whose writing it belongs to. I’m also thinking of giving up on ideas to who wrote those words.”

“I’m sorry I can’t help out on any ideas or suggestions, Kimberly. Wish I could, but it looks to me that you’re still on your own,” Sarah told her.

“I know. My mom thinks I should let the police take over.”

“Your mom came up with the perfect idea, and I happen to agree with her.”

“Let me share another thing with you, Sarah. When I showed this note to Mom and Dad again, they were on my side about the handwriting. Dad did agree with me that the writing looked familiar. All he did say was he didn’t remember who it belonged to.”

“And you’re telling me that you don’t remember who the person was?”

“That’s right, Sarah. I read those words a zillion times. I had the telephone book with me. I thought I’d try calling a few people to see if any of them knew who would want to use those words with perfume.”

“So did you do it?”

“No, I didn’t. That would be a lot of wasting my time if I did.”

“That makes sense. I still do wish you luck, Kimberly.”

“I’ve already decided to quit anyway.”

“It was worth a try, though. Listen, I have to get off. I’m going to the movies with the girls soon. It was nice talking with you again, Kimberly.”

“Same to you, Sarah. Hope we can see each other soon. Maybe I can meet Carolyn and Elizabeth you’ve been telling me about.”

“I’m sure they would love that. They’re friendly.”

“That’s good. Talk with you again soon.”

Then that was the end of their conversation.

Once Sarah had hung up, Kimberly made another telephone call. This time it was to the police station. The sheriff answered the telephone. Yes, he was available to talk with her.

“Hi, Sheriff. This is Kimberly.”

“Hello, Ms. Hawkins. What may I do for you?”

“”I do have a job for you. This is why I called.”

“What’s the job now?”

“Well, it’s hard to explain.”

“Tell me your story and then I will decide if I can help you on this one,” he told her.

“Okay, here’s the story: I got a mysterious Christmas gift with a handwritten note.”

“What did the note tell you?”

“It only said ‘in case of emergency.’ There was no explanation. I have looked at that note a zillion times. The handwriting did look a bit familiar, but I can’t figure it out.”

“What was the mysterious gift?”

“A bottle of orange perfume. I didn’t put perfume on my Christmas list. That really surprised me when I found it on my front porch.”

“Why don’t you stop by today and I’ll see what I can do about it?”

“Thank you, Sheriff. This really means a lot to me. I’ll be over now.”

He did reply. Kimberly did exactly what she’d told the sheriff.

It took Kimberly a while to head over to the police station. Kimberly decided not to bother telling Grace and Arthur that she went to the police station. She just didn’t think there wasn’t anything worth explaining anything. She’s pretty sure that they would probably figure it out on their own. She was happy to see that the police station hadn’t been busy when she found a parking spot.

Yes, she had the bottle of perfume with the note as well. Kimberly grabbed the items and then locked the door. She didn’t see anyone coming and going while she made her way to the sheriff’s desk. It wasn’t that much crowded like Kimberly had thought it would.

“Hello, Ms. Hawkins. Would you like to have a seat?”

“No, thank you. I’m not staying long,” Kimberly answered.

That’s when he looked at the note with the perfume in her hands.

“So these are what you were telling me about over the telephone?”

“That’s right. I happen to think this stranger is watching me so he would make sure I’m using the perfume. I’m not the type of woman who likes perfume and jewelry. I haven’t even bothered to try any of the makeup.”

“You look fine, Ms. Hawkins.”

She has worked with t he police department several times during her cases, so they know her very well.

“You don’t need to tell me what you find. All I want to do right now is to move on.”

“I understand, Ms. Hawkins. I’ll take it over from here,” he said as he stood up and took the perfume out of her hands.

“I’ll probably see you again soon, Sheriff.”

That’s when she left. Kimberly didn’t bother to look back, so all she did was drive away.

**Author's Note:**

> Names came from generator. Sarah is from "Carolyn's Birthday" and "Elizabeth's Secret."


End file.
